St. Louis Blues sign forward Vladimir Tarasenko to 8-year, $60M deal

General manager Doug Armstrong announced the move Tuesday, locking up the 23-year-old Tarasenko after a season in which he made his first career All-Star game and was 10th in the NHL with 73 points, including 37 goals, to go along with a plus-27 rating. He was the youngest Blues player with a 30-goal season since Brendan Shanahan in 1991-92.

Drafted 16th overall by the Blues in 2010, Tarasenko has 135 points (66 goals, 69 assists) in 179 career regular-season games over parts of three seasons. He also has 10 goals and an assist in 13 playoff games.

"Happy to be with you and carry a note on my chest," Tarasenko tweeted Tuesday. "Let's bring the cup to St. Louis!"

The Blues recently traded forward T.J. Oshie to Washington for Troy Brouwer, goalie Pheonix Copley and a third-round pick in next year's draft. St. Louis will have coach Ken Hitchcock back next season, when they hope to advance farther in the post-season. The Blues were ousted in the first round by Minnesota after posting the third-best record in team history.